I. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates generally to an improvement for a conventional boat lifting device, and more specifically to a wheel mechanism which, when used in conjunction with such a boat lift, facilitates the placement and removal of the lift at dockside.
II. Discussion of the Prior Art:
Owners of pleasure boats and the like find it convenient to have a boat lift next to a dock so that when the boat is not in use, it can be drawn out of the water and thereby protected from damage which might otherwise occur due to storms and attendant wave action. In northern climates, it is generally necessary to remove the boat lift from its dockside location in the fall of the year to prevent damage to the lift itself by ice during the winter months. Then, in the spring of the year, it is again necessary to transport the boat lift from its location on shore back to its dockside location.
Most boat lift devices of which I am familiar are comprised of a stationary framework having first and second parallel, spaced apart side members, this stationary framework generally designed to rest directly upon the ground or lake bottom. Then, suspended from this stationary frame is a boat supporting mechanism which is relatively movable in a vertical direction with respect to the stationary framework so that a boat resting on the supporting mechanism may be raised out of the water or lowered into the water through the operation of a winch or the like. Such a conventional boat lift is depicted and described in the Brown U.S. Pat. No. 3,077,742. Still another prior art boat lift with which the improvement of the present invention may be typically used is the Model WRS 9016 sold by Weeres Industries, Inc. of St. Cloud, Minn. Each of these prior art arrangements includes a generally rectangular horizontal frame having parallel, spaced apart side members and vertical posts extending upwardly therefrom, the side members adapted to rest directly on the lake bottom when the boat lift is positioned dockside. This stationary framework, then, supports a boat supporting member which can be effectively raised or lowered relative to the stationary frame and the water surface.
Because of the weight of the boat lift and its size and constructional configuration, it is normally necessary to have four or more persons involved in any attempt to position the boat lift at dockside in the spring of the year or to remove it from its dockside position and place it on land prior to the onset of winter. I have devised a simple, low cost mechanism which may readily be attached to a conventional boat lift whereby a single person may perform the installation and removal task. Specifically, my improvement comprises a retractable and extendable wheel mechanism which when in its retracted condition permits the stationary framework of the boat lift to rest upon the lake bottom or on ground. However, when it is desired to move the lift assembly, the same winch mechanism used to raise and lower the boat supporting member can be made to deploy the wheel assembly so that the weight of the boat lift is supported on wheels, allowing ease of movement.